Novi Sad: Two Alternativa Mladih Representatives Arrested
Two people were arrested in Novi Sad on suspicion of spending city and provincial budget money on six projects without carrying out the activities.
Officers of the Criminal Police Directorate’s Anti-Corruption Service arrested two people in Novi Sad on suspicion of abuse of position by a responsible person, the Interior Ministry (MUP) said today, October 5, 2026. They are I. S. (41) and I. M. (42), representatives of the citizens’ association “Institute for Informal Education Alternativa Mladih.”
What are they accused of?
In its statement, MUP says the two suspects are accused of misusing public budget money:
I. S. (born 1985) and I. M. (born 1984) are suspected of having, between 2020 and 2025, as representatives of the citizens’ association “Institute for Informal Education Alternativa Mladih” from Novi Sad, spent funds paid out by the city administrations of the City of Novi Sad and by provincial secretariats, in the amount of 3,730,000 dinars, for purposes other than those intended, without carrying out the underlying contracts.
The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad, which also issued a statement, specifies that this is a continuing criminal offense. According to the prosecutors, the association received a total of 3,730,000 dinars from the City of Novi Sad and the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina between 2020 and August 27, 2025, for six projects. The prosecution suspects that the activities planned under the projects were never carried out, and that the suspects sent the funders false reports describing workshops, lectures and other activities that did not take place.
How much damage was done to the budget?
The two statements do not fully match. MUP says the suspects damaged the budgets of the City of Novi Sad and the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina by the same amount, 3,730,000 dinars. The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office puts the damage at 3,720,438 dinars, which is 9,562 dinars less than the sum paid out. Neither statement says which figure would go into an eventual indictment.
What happens next?
MUP also said the suspects were ordered held for up to 48 hours, “after which they will be taken to the competent prosecutor’s office.” The prosecutors add that within that period the two will be brought in and questioned at the Special Department for the Suppression of Corruption of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad. The presumption of innocence applies until a final verdict, and everything stated here is a suspicion held by the prosecuting authorities.
Is this the first case of its kind in Novi Sad?
The case fits a series of Novi Sad cases involving projects paid from public budgets. Most recently, on October 2, a representative of the association “Srbica” was arrested, as we have already reported. The portal 021 also recalls the arrest of April 20, 2026, when a representative of the “Institute for Social Development,” D. G. (35), was arrested over 3.8 million dinars for seven projects. None of those cases is linked to this one in the statements released today, and no connection between the associations is stated.
